Twenty-three days ago, the Raptors reached the nadir of their season in an ill-tempered and embarrassing blowout in Portland. Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry went down to serious injury. Amir Johnson was tossed after a tragicomic wrestling match over the ball with a referee. The Raptors fell to 4-18 that night.

“Everybody was kind of looking at each other crossways,” coach Dwane Casey recalled. “All over the organization, everybody talking about firing … (he quickly caught himself, letting that impolitic line of thought drop) … that was a crossroads for us.”

They’re long past the crossroads now, and the road continues downhill.

Facing a team that went into New York and spanked the best team in the East the night before, the Raptors handily won 102-79. They’ve won eight of nine altogether. Following Orlando’s loss, they move into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, only three games out of you-know-what.

We say you-know-what because you-know-what has been struck from the Raptors vocabulary. It’s like Fight Club, except that Toronto delivers all the beatings.

“We’re still digging out of a hole,” Casey said, when the you-know-what was mentioned pre-game. “We don’t even talk about it. We’re nowhere near talking about that.”

Afterward, he continued with the excavation metaphors.

“If you get in a deep hole, stop digging. At least we’ve stopped digging,” Casey said. “We’re still in the hole … I’m not getting over-excited.”

That’s the coach’s job — never get too high. The players get to be the other way.

There was plenty of exuberance on the night, the high point of which might have been a ridiculous play early in the first by Johnson, the noted mouth guard tosser.

Johnson received the ball at the top of the key, put it on the floor for a moment and then planted. He looked around. Then he began dribbling again toward the basket. The double dribble was so bold, carried off with such confident swagger, it functioned as a Jedi mind trick. No call was made.

Realizing what he’d done at mid-stride, Johnson tossed up an awkward hook that hit the rim like a billiard ball and went in. He swiveled to the bench, flashing a disbelieving grin.

“You cannot teach that move,” Johnson crowed later.

While Johnson was assessing his own larcenous brilliance, Terrence Ross was in the midst of something unfamiliar — a full-on press scrum.

There are many parts to this resurgent Raptors squad, but the lanky rookie provides the electricity. Usually, he does it streaking to the rim. Last night, he did it from behind the three-point line. Ross was 6 for 9 from that range, and notched a career-high 26.

One of the things that makes Ross a crowd-pleaser is that he leaves little doubt in your mind once he receives the ball. The kid plays basketball like Gandalf — he shall not pass. As hot as he is just now, nor should he.

“I have a lot more confidence now, getting used to everything, getting adjusted, know my role,” Ross mumbled afterward. He’s a mumbler. “It’s a lot different than college. College is a lot slower, now that I think about it.”

Now that he thinks about it.

As Ross was speaking, Johnson and Aaron Gray came lumbering out of the showers to find the way to their lockers partially barred by the crowd surrounding Ross.

“C’mon, rook. Move that (blank) over,” Johnson screamed.

“My bad,” Ross said quickly, and began shuffling to one side. He raised his arms helpfully, hoping the crowd might follow him. They didn’t. Johnson and Gray continued to playfully hector Ross.

It was fun to watch — players who are not only playing well, but seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. It doesn’t happen often in Toronto. It’s happening right now.

“(Y)ou can tell they are starting to believe,” Portland’s Damian Lillard conceded afterward.

The Raptors appear to have latched onto some sort of formula, though the mix changes from night to night.

Yesterday, the team received no points from its two point guards. Jose Calderon and Kyle Lowry took only three combined shots.

However, they did combine for 22 assists against only two turnovers. It was a remarkable display of single-mindedness from what has often been a mismatched pair.

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